FBI: Ore. Murder Suspect in Mexico

Published 8:00 pm, Thursday, January 10, 2002

Associated Press Writer

A man accused of killing his wife and three children last month and dumping their bodies into the Pacific is believed to have fled to Mexico, the FBI said Friday.

The agency placed Christian Longo on its Ten Most Wanted list, alongside the likes of Osama bin Laden, and there is a $50,000 reward for information leading to his arrest, said Charles Mathews, the FBI's agent in charge in Oregon.

"We're confident that he ended up in Cancun on Dec. 27," Mathews said. "Where's he gone since then, we don't know."

Longo is accused of killing his wife, MaryJane, 34, and three children, Zachary, 4, Sadie Ann, 3, and Madison, 2. Their bodies were found in the coastal waters off Waldport and Newport between Dec. 19 and Dec. 27.

Longo was spotted in San Francisco on Dec. 23 and again on Dec. 26. He spent two nights in a city youth hostel.

Longo _ who has a history of petty theft and debt _ is believed to have purchased the plane ticket to Cancun using identification fraudulently obtained from an Oregon man, Mathews said.

"He's accomplished at changing his identity and assuming other people's identity," Mathews said at a news conference.

The Dodge Durango that Longo had been driving _ which was stolen from an Oregon car lot _ was found at San Francisco International Airport.

Longo, who owned a construction cleaning business in Michigan, is named in six lawsuits seeking more than $30,000 and is wanted on two warrants in Michigan for probation violation and a larceny charge. When the Longos moved west last year, they reportedly left behind $60,000 in debts.

The Ten Most Wanted list sometimes has more than 10 fugitives. Longo is the 11th person on the list, along with bin Laden.

Producers of the television program "America's Most Wanted" said they will have a segment featuring Longo on Saturday night.